A Breath Away
by Standard18
Summary: A mysterious planet calls for Kevin. With a dying emperor and his twin son and daughter hunting for him, will he be able to find the true meaning of why he was called to this planet?
1. The Call

Another day, another villain killed

Another day, another villain killed. Another day, another ally. It was strange for me. The whole 'team' thing. Sure, I'd had partners. Dozens of 'em. But I just used them. They were there, they had what I wanted needed, and I would use them. To get what** I **wanted. Then, I'd leave them. In front of the police cars with sirens wailing and red-handed or double-cross them and take everything. Or both. Both was more common.

But a team. My team. They were different. We were together most of the time and they acted in lieu of the family I hadn't had in almost ten years. I didn't always need them or want them around, but something always stopped me from leaving. With no strings attached. Just up and leave for the next group, and repeat the cycle over and over again, all the way never looking back at those I had left. But something always stopped me, held me back. I refused to think of it as real bonds, but the more I tried to deny it the more I was hit with the reality of it all. The fact that…

"Kevin." A voice called me from a distance. The call was repeated, this time closer. I ignored it, turning over in my small bed. I desperately wanted to sleep. I hadn't gotten a lot in the last week. I heard beeping and caught a flash of light in my peripheral vision. I felt a large tongue lick the side of my face and my bare skin covered in hot sticky saliva. I looked over at the culprit, Ben as Wildmutt.

"Come on. Was that even necessary?" I asked grabbing a towel and wiped my face off. Even though I had wiped off most of the drool, my hair was still pressed flat against my head from Vulpimancer slobber. Ben changed back to his human form and grinned. I looked over at the clock by my bed. "Tennyson, it's three in the morning and I'm tired. Give me one good reason I shouldn't beat you to a bloody pulp." I picked him up by his collar and shook him.

"Gwen told me to." _A good enough reason not to kill him. _I put him down. "She said she found something, but she won't tell me what it is until you're there." He bolted out the door and down the stairs. I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on a shirt. I crept down the stairs, careful not to wake Ben's parents. I had been staying at his house and his parents were a bit reluctant to let me stay, so I tried my best to get on their good side and stay out of (visible) trouble. I wondered what was so important that she had to wake me up. I also wondered why she was up so late.

I followed after him, following a trail through a thick forest behind Ben's house. I tried my best to keep up with Ben. He had way too much energy for three in the morning. The trail continued for about a half a mile, until it stopped abruptly with a large boulder in the middle of it. Ben was leaned against the face of the stone. "This is what she wanted to show us?" I asked irritated beyond belief. She wakes me up at three in the morning to show me a stupid rock?

"No I have it with me." Gwen's voice came from atop the rock and sure enough, there she was. I walked over to the other side and waited for her to come down. "Here you two watch it. I've already seen it." She tossed me a holo-disk.

"This message is for Kelrath, or Kevin in the human tongue. A girl dressed in white was speaking. Her dress was long and flowing and she had jet black hair that was tied back. "I am Tarthena, or Taylor. I am the chief advisor to the emperor of the planet Zarron. Your presence is requested by the emperor himself. He wishes to have council with you to discuss many important matters regarding both Earth and Zarron. There is no need to reply, for we will be waiting for you. Please hurry because we fear for the emperor's safety. You may bring your companions along with you. Tarthena out." The disk went blank.

"Why did she call you Kelrath?" Ben asked. I didn't answer. I was thinking about that too.

"That's not as important as how we're getting to Zarron." Gwen said. "You heard her. Kevin's wanted on another planet and we're going with you. I'll research about the planet later."

"I'll call Tetrax. He could probably take us to Zarron." Ben Turned it to XLR8 and sped off down the path.

"Hey wait." I yelled. "I don't get any say in whether or not we're going." I would have asked them to do everything they had volunteered to do anyway, but still.

"No." Gwen replied flatly. She descended from the top of the rock using her magic. "You would have asked us to help anyway." Damn she's scary psychic. "So what are you wanted for? Weapons dealing? Arson? Murder?"

"All three." I replied sarcastically. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never even heard of Zarron and haven't done anything to them. At least not that I can remember."

"I haven't heard of them either." Gwen followed the path back to Ben's house, leaving me alone with time to think.

Who was the girl? She said her name was Tarthena and it translated into Taylor. She looked human to me, but it could have been a cloaking device. Maybe she was a slave. The idea rolled around my head for a bit until I figured she wouldn't be in such a high position. Zarron. It sounded so familiar even though I had just heard of it today. Why would the emperor of a planet want to meet with a (partially) reformed criminal from Earth? And important issues? What could I do? I had powers, but no power. I yawned. I need more sleep. I followed the path, back to the house, back to Ben and Gwen, back to my team, back to my home and back to my family.


	2. Trip from Hell

**Well here's the second chapter of A Breath Away. Yeah, I'm not feeling the title that much any more. It will be changed within the next two or three chapters. You have been warned. So without further ado, here's Sarah announcing.**

**S: I love Kevin.**

**Me: Yes Sarah we get that. Can you actually announce the story?**

**S: Sure. Kevin is being totally kick-ass and amazing and awesome and-**

**Me: Okay they actually want to read the story so we're shuting up now.**

* * *

When I got back to Ben's house about two or three hours later, Ben and Gwen nowhere in sight. I crept up the stairs, past Ben's parent room and into his room.

The sight in there was pure chaos. Gwen was franticly scrambling around his room, trying her best not to make any noise. Ben was stretched out across his bed watching her boredly. "What's with her?" I whispered to him.

"Preparing our stuff." He whispered back. Gwen was still being a human tornado, throwing things from the closet onto the floor of Ben's partially cleaned room.

"Great." I replied sarcastically. "So when's Tetrax coming?" I jumped on the bed along with him. I pulled a magazine from under his bed and flipped through it boredly.

"In about a week." Ben said. He glanced over my shoulder to see what I was reading. I grabbed him by his arm and threw him off the bed.

"Then why's she rushing?" I asked. "A weeks plenty enough time." Ben tried to jump back on the bed, but I again threw him off.

"We're going shopping." Gwen said from somewhere in the depths of Ben's closet. "And you're coming with me." I groaned. I hated going shopping with Gwen It was one of the few things I tried to avoid doing with her. I loved spending time with her, but not while shopping. She always knew how to change a simple shopping trip into a nightmare from hell. Last time I went shopping with her we went to three malls. (Got kick out of two of them. Not because of me.) And got one shirt. One.

"Can't Ben go with you?" I pleaded. I restashed the magazine under the bed.

"No way I'm going with her." He called from under the bed.

"And would one of you two like to tell me why neither of you wants to go shopping with me?" She asked. She returned to the room with her hands on her hips.

"Well it's nothing personal, but…" Ben started.

"Going shopping with you can be a bit of a…" I continued. I was trying to find a nice way to say 'hellish nightmare'. I couldn't think of any.

"Pain in the ass." Ben finished. Not exactly what I was looking for but accurate anyway.

"Fine. You two go can go, but make sure you get everything on this list." She handed Ben what looked like a thick packet. I snatched it from him and scanned it over.

"Do we need half the stuff on here? And how are we supposed to pay for all of this?" I asked. I had a little money, but nowhere near enough to pay for even half this stuff.

"Be creative." She replied.

"Okay Gwen. We'll get all the stuff on the list." Ben told her. I began to argue but Ben cut me off.

"Fine. I'll see you two in couple days." She left out the room and headed back to her house.

"What was that about?" I asked. "I could have gotten her to say we didn't have to get all this stupid stuff. Or at least get her to give her to give us some money. Or-"

"I took her credit card." Ben cut me off.

"You've been hanging out with me way too much." I said half seriously.

"You're telling me."

* * *

Four days of shopping, hundreds of dollars, and dozens of stores later we had finally gotten everything off of Gwen's list. "That's everything off that stupid list." I said, exhausted from shopping for nearly four straight days. "I'm done. I'm never, I repeat never, going into another Abercrombie store as long as I live." I stretched out on a bench and sighed.

"Neither will I." Ben said sitting on the fountain behind me. I thought about shoving him in it, but decided against it simply because he had most of the bags from today's trip.

I looked over the list one more time. I didn't want Gwen yelling about how we had forgotten to get something. Also I didn't want to go back to any of the stores. "Tennyson, let's go. I don't want to hang around here any longer than I have to." I was tired and slightly irritated about having to go on this stupid trip to the mall, but the fact that I had used Gwen's credit card to pay for it all made things a little better. Just a little. I yawned. "Tennyson, I'm beat. You drive."

We had arrived at my car. The love of my life. Even though I would probably never admit that to Gwen. Or Ben. "Kevin are you sure about this?" Ben asked. I hit the trunk open and he threw the bags in. "I mean I just got my licenses and the first time I drove your car, it got completely rusted over by that time monster. And I crashed it. And don't forget that other time when-."

"I get it, I get it. You can't drive to save your life. Or mine either come to think about it. But just shut up and drive." I tossed him the keys from the passenger's side.

* * *

**Yay implied parings. If you didn't catch them then too bad. The plot will start to appear in the next chapter or two. I promise. As always please read and review. Thanks for reading and stay an awesome fan.**


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